On March 18 the Plumas County Board of Supervisors approved a payment of up to $35,000 to conduct confidential investigations involving an unnamed civil rights case. It is the latest of a series of payments for internal investigations involving workplace issues.
Several originate in the human resources department, whose responsibilities span all of the county’s departments. The supervisors have discussed each of these cases behind closed doors, citing potential litigation as the basis for keeping the investigations private.
The March 18 action stems from a discussion the supervisors held in closed session March 4. Authorized under the Brown Act and Government Code Section 54956.9, the discussion was about litigation that has not yet been filed but is anticipated.
The $35,000 funds an agreement with the Berkeley law firm Boucher Law, PC to conduct “confidential investigations” that apparently began March 1, according to the board’s March 18 agenda. The supervisors did reveal that the case involves an issue with the social services department, which is largely supported by state funds. The investigation will be paid by that department and will have no impact on the county’s general fund, said Supervisor Kevin Goss, chair of the board.
Supervisor Mimi Hall called it a “discrimination complaint to a civil rights unit.”
Human resources department a source of ongoing legal issues
Boucher Law is a labor and employment law firm formed to serve human resources professionals. It is “HR-centric and HR-focused,” according to its website. The supervisors previously hired the firm in February 2024 to investigate a hostile workplace complaint filed by County Administrative Officer Debra Lucero against Plumas County District Attorney David Hollister.
Plumas County has been without a permanent human resources director since November 2023, when HR Director Nancy Selvage was placed on administrative leave with full pay following her arrest on three felony counts related to alleged activity as head of the department. Lucero was appointed as interim HR director until she was placed on paid administrative leave Jan. 21, 2025.
The $35,000 payment caps a series of legal fees totaling $123,000 that Plumas supervisors have authorized in the last 15 months:
- Jan. 27, 2025 – Up to $20,000 to hire Mark A. Wasser, a Sacramento attorney, to conduct workplace investigations identified only as “labor and employment matters.” Asked if Wasser’s investigation was limited to the HR department, Goss said, “Nope.”
- February 2024 – $18,000 to investigate a hostile workplace complaint filed by Lucero Feb. 20, 2024, against Hollister. The investigation found no support for the complaint. In response to questions from The Plumas Sun, Interim County Counsel Josh Brechtel said it cost roughly $18,000.
- Dec. 12, 2023 – $50,000 to hire a consultant with Municipal Resource Group, Inc. to help with the HR department backlog of unmet responsibilities and investigate grievances brought by and about county employees.
“This board is not subject to more investigations than any other county.”
Josh Brechtel, interim Plumas County Counsel
Asked March 18 by The Plumas Sun and others about mounting fees for investigations, Brechtel said, “This board is not subject to more investigations than any other county.” He defended the supervisors’ closed-session discussions about actual and pending legal cases. “It is not helpful to the county if discussions of the legal pros and cons of the case” are aired publicly, he said.
“We needed some help.”
Kevin Goss, Plumas County Board of Supervisors chair
Goss told The Plumas Sun the board hired several attorneys to assist when it had no permanent HR director. “We were facing several issues. We needed some help,” he said.
By December 2023, the department of five was reduced to one person, with Lucero as interim director. In January 2025 the supervisors hired Josh Mizrahi as interim HR director. The department is now fully staffed and “everything’s going well,” Goss said.
Actual lawsuits by current and former county employees
In other legal matters, Plumas County faces $1.6 million in attorney’s fees and costs awarded in January 2024, by the U.S. Eastern District Court of California. The fees stem from a sexual harassment case filed in 2018 by Tiffany Goodson, a former county correctional officer. The supervisors were scheduled to discuss the case March 4 in closed session. Goss reported they took no action.
Plumas County Treasurer/Tax Collector Julie White has gone to court seeking $265,000 in attorney fees to settle a dispute over a conflict of interest that began with a performance review letter from Selvage, the HR director. Judge James Garbolino ruled against the county in November 2024. The issue was on the board’s March 18 agenda for public discussion, but moved to closed session by Goss.
Editor’s note: This story has been changed to more accurately state White’s legal action against the county.